Today, many electronic devices, including mobile devices (for instance, smartphones, tablets, etc.) often use flexible pouch-type energy storage devices, which may include one or more electrochemical pouch cells, such as prismatic or pouch batteries. These energy storage devices are light weight, compact and provide high energy density. The pouch cell makes efficient use of space, for instance, achieving 90 to 95% packing efficiency. This is achieved by, in part, eliminating the metal enclosure of a traditional battery, which reduces weight, but means the cell requires support and space to expand. Pouch cell devices are used in many different applications, including consumer devices, military devices, automotive applications, etc. Currently, no standardized pouch cell exists, with each manufacturer designing the pouch cell to a desired configuration, as required for a particular application.
Pouch cells are commonly used in lithium-polymer batteries, or lithium-ion polymer batteries. These batteries are rechargeable batteries of the lithium-ion technology and use a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyte. For instance, high conductivity semisolid (gel) polymers form the electrolyte. Advantageously, such batteries provide higher specific energy then other lithium-battery types, and are often used in applications where weight may be a critical consideration, such as tablet computers, smartphones, handsets, radio controlled aircraft, etc.